A few names do come to mind but the true origins are reputed to be with the fourpiece, "The Shirelles" whose career lasted from the late 1950's until the late 1960's.
At a time in the United States of racial segregation and prejudice their distinctive style, termed naive schoolgirl was accepted by white and black audiences although if you source, on You Tube, their live performance of the Carole King classic, "Will you still love me tomorrow" you would be hard pressed to find any racial mix in the studio audience sat passively behind the stage.
The Shirelles - live
The group, consisting of Shirley Owens, Doris Cole, Addie Harris and Beverly Lee all knew each other at High School in New Jersey and formed to take part in a talent contest in 1957, with their average age being just 16.
Their rendition of their own song "I met him on a Sunday" under their group name of The Poquellos brought them to the attention of a small record label, Tiara, who restyled them in their new guise as The Shirelles.
It took a move to the huge Decca Record Label to become established but, disappointed, they soon left for Scepter with who they had seven top 20 US hits.
I came across them only recently when featuring in the Carole King musical "Beautiful".
King placed perhaps the best known of her creations with The Shirelles although this required a speedy adaptation with string section to propel the band and song to the number one position in the US Charts in 1960 and a best of fourth in the UK.
Along with their 1960 hit "Tonights the Night", part written by Owens these two releases earned the group a 76th place in the Rolling Stone Magazine 100 best hits list of 2004.
A combination of the British Invasion of the US in the 1960's and the ascendancy of the girl groups such as The Chiffons, The Supremes, The Ronettes, Martha and the Vandellas and The Crystals saw a decline in the popularity of the pioneering group.
Dionne Warwick filled in for band members in the first half of the sixties before going on to her own great solo career.
Those grainy early films of The Shirelles are an important legacy of the pop music world and we should not be allowed to forget their contribution to the girl band genre or music in general.
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